The Masquerade Ball
by rumpleswagskin
Summary: Tony and Ziva are sent undercover at the Annual Marine Corps Birthday Masquerade Ball to watch a suspect... closely. TIVA GOODNESS! Just a oneshot :D


**A/N: Just a quick Tiva oneshot I wrote for a contest :)**

It was a cliché in many movies that Tony had seen, but with the masks on, it was actually quite difficult to tell who each person was.

He would be able to eventually, whether it be from the way the person's voice sounded or how they carried themselves. It also depended on how well he knew them.

Right now, Tony DiNozzo was undercover in a high class ballroom at a ritzy DC hotel. A chandelier drooped lazily from the ceiling and he was surrounded by men and women in delicate masks whirling around the room to slow music. The tinkling of glasses and elegant laughter sounded around him and the smell of hors d'oeuvres mixed with expensive perfume filled his nostrils.

"Eyes on the target, DiNozzo," Gibbs' voice echoed through the small earpiece in his right ear. Subtly, Tony shifted his gaze onto the guy they were after— Brendan Keening, who was suspected of putting a hit on one of the guests at the event.

The event, being the Annual Marine Corps Birthday Ball. The theme this year was masquerade, which made the Senior Agent's job that much more difficult, having to specifically identify every suspicious guest. But he wasn't alone for his mission—speaking of which, where _was_ his partner anyway?

"Boss, where's Ziva?" said Tony quietly, and without moving his mouth too much. He didn't want it to appear that he was talking to himself.

"She'll be here any second now," the older man replied through the earwig.

Spotting his partner at one of the entrances closest to him, Tony's breath caught in his throat. She made her way over to him and smiled.

Ziva looked incredible. Her dress was midnight blue and floated to the floor in a haze of shimmering chiffon. It draped over one shoulder, leaving her other deliciously bare and showing off her flawless honey skin. Her mask was the same blue, rimmed with intricate gold accents that laced and weaved their way around her darkly-lashed eyes. Hair done in loose curls that swept past her shoulders, she smirked at her partner.

"Finished your googling yet, Tony?" she said seductively. He chuckled.

"You're never gonna get that one right, are you?"

"Maybe I do not want to," she smiled.

As she moved to turn around, he caught hold of her arm and twisted her slightly towards him so he could whisper something in her 'Gibbs-less' ear.

"You look amazing, Ziva," he said softly. A faint blush overtook her cheeks and a tingling feeling spread to her toes. His lips so teasingly close to her ear were doing strange things to her body. She smiled in thanks, but when she opened her mouth to speak, it wasn't to him.

"What do we do now, Gibbs?" she asked. His reply came through both of their earwigs.

"Blend in and watch him," their boss replied gruffly. "Looks like he's heading out to the dance floor."

They both turned subtly and indeed, Keening was seemingly leading a pretty, however short blonde woman in a deep violet dress and silver mask out to the centre of the floor.

"Follow him," were Gibbs' instructions.

Tony swept into an overdramatic bow.

"May I have this dance?" he asked in a romantic voice.

Ziva's heart fluttered, even though she knew her partner was just fooling around. But still, she grinned and took his arm as he led her towards the floor.

As Tony pulled her close to him, she was finally able to take notice of what he was wearing tonight. His tuxedo was simple and black, but the main attraction was the shining gold mask on his face, with protruding golden swirling accents. His hair was done as it was normally— in his signature style of 'I-just-rolled-out-of-bed-and-I-still-look-this-good.'

Tony rested his hand on her waist tentatively, and when Ziva didn't protest, laced her fingers with his own. Her other hand came up to lie on his shoulder and she met his emerald gaze. For a moment then, she couldn't tear her eyes away.

But then that moment was lost as he shifted his vision to over her shoulder.

"They're not dancing yet, just talking. He keeps looking around like he's trying to find somebody," he said softly to Gibbs.

"Can you hear what they're talking about?" asked their boss.

Tony strained to hear any notes of their conversation, to no avail.

"The music's too loud. But reading their lips, I can see she just said the word 'careless.' They're arguing, but trying not to draw too much attention to themselves."

Gibbs sighed. "Just keep watch," he said.

Tony pulled Ziva closer to him as they turned in slow circles to the music.

"Bet you always wanted to dance with me, huh?" he grinned arrogantly.

_Yes_. "No," she said.

"Aw come on, you've never had any fantasies about slow dancing with your dashingly handsome partner?"

_YES. _"No, Tony," she sighed with a hint of a smile.

He feigned hurt, but pulled her closer to him. Their bodies just touched lightly, and he leaned his head into the crook of her neck to whisper in her ear.

"I think you're lying," he said seductively. The husky tone of his voice in her ear sent shivers down her spine.

She took his current position as an advantage to get a closer look at their suspect and peered over his shoulder.

"They are dancing now, Gibbs. Keening looks worried… he is still looking for someone," she said. "Another woman is glaring at the two. Medium height, dark brown hair, red dress and black mask."

Tony whirled them around to get a better look, and the couples dancing on either side of the agents looked disgruntled.

"Not so obvious, Tony," came McGee's voice. "You're drawing attention to yourself. People don't know who you are… you're making them suspicious."

The Senior Agent stole a quick look around and saw that indeed, other guests were looking at them warily, starting to think they had ulterior motives for being at the gala.

"Do something to make yourselves seem like you're here for the party, DiNozzo," instructed Gibbs.

So he did the first thing that came to his head.

His head leaned closer to his partner's, so close that their noses brushed lightly against each other and he could feel her breath on his lips.

"Tony, wh-what are you-?"

Ziva's question was cut off as he captured her lips with his own.

She dived wholeheartedly into the kiss, sliding her hands up his chest and twining them around his neck as he continued to mold her mouth with his.

Gibbs sighed, irritated. "That'll work," he groaned. McGee sat next to him in the surveillance van, gobsmacked.

Meanwhile, inside, the agents had all but forgotten the purpose of the kiss, as well as the fact that there were people around them.

Tony crushed her against him, securing his arms around her waist. He sucked her bottom lip and nipped at it lightly before soothing it with his tongue. Ziva bit back a moan. He was such an expert at what he did that it made her tremble at the knees. One hand still at the small of her back, the other slid upwards until it tangled in her curls. Soon, his tongue protested entrance and she willingly yielded, thankful for anything at this current moment that would get her closer to him, because how close they were didn't feel close enough.

When they finally came up for air, it was only for Tony to move his mouth to her throat, lips working furiously at her skin as he brushed his tongue over places that made her shiver.

"The blonde's seen the brunette staring at them," he murmured for Gibbs to hear.

"Good. Now stop enjoying yourself, DiNozzo," he growled in reply. Tony let out a throaty chuckle.

"Sorry, boss."

Tony was thankful to see that the couples around them had stopped staring at them. He moved his mouth up to the spot he knew Ziva loved, just below her ear. This time she couldn't help herself and let out a soft, moaning gasp.

"You too, Ziver," Gibbs rolled his eyes, frustrated.

"Sorry, Gibbs," she breathed. She couldn't concentrate too hard on his words while Tony's mouth worked wonders at her throat. She tried to get a fix on Keening.

"The blonde seems to be questioning Keening on the other woman. The brunette's coming…_over!_" Her last word came out as a gasp as Tony gently nipped her earlobe.

Gibbs groaned. "You two are on desk duty for the next _month_ when we get back."

At that moment, they both kind of considered it worth it.

The bang of a gunshot echoed throughout the room and people began to scream and duck out of the way of the falling chandelier. It crashed to the ground, spreading shattered glass everywhere.

The agents whirled around; Keening was nowhere to be seen. As Tony pulled out his gun, he turned to his partner.

"Hope you didn't wear heels," he grinned.

She smirked and pulled up the bottom of her floor-length gown to reveal her bulky combat boots hiding underneath. His grin grew wider.

Now _that_ was his Ziva.

**A/N: It'd mean a lot to me if you could drop a review on the way out! :D**


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